Why did I love this book?
This is a beautifully told story of a highly imaginative and creative child who, left to her own devises, makes a world for herself and siblings to escape the neglect of the self-indulgent adults who have little interest in raising them.
Cristabel Seagrave is courageous, fiercely loyal, and protective. She sees the magic in the environment and people around her and when she makes a theatre from the whalebones she claims as hers, she brings that world to life for others. The book reaffirmed for me the exquisite nature of childhood imagination and the resilience of the human spirit.
3 authors picked The Whalebone Theatre as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
'THE BOOK OF THE SUMMER' Sunday Times
'A tour de force' Sarah Winman, author of Still Life
This is the story of an old English manor house by the sea, with crumbling chimneys, draping ivy and a library full of dusty hardbacks. It's the story of the three children who grow up there, and the adventures they create for themselves while the grown-ups entertain endless party guests.
This is the story of a whale that washes up on a beach, whose bones are claimed by a twelve-year-old girl with big ambitions and an even bigger imagination. An unwanted orphan who…